BREAKING: Shock victory for progressive Congressional candidate in NJ
Populism and AIPAC's own goal propel a massive upset
Welcome to a late Thursday night edition of Progress Report. Tonight we have some breaking election news and analysis.
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Analilia Mejia won the Democratic primary for the special election in New Jersey’s 11th congressional district on Thursday, a shocking upset and the latest tremor ahead of what could be a massive political earthquake in the midterm elections.
Meijia took 28.7% of the vote in a crowded field, squeaking by former Rep. Tom Malinowski (28%) and stomping other rivals in a North Jersey district that was most recently represented by Gov. Mikie Sherrill, a political moderate. A progressive endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Mejia built her victory on economic populism and suburban rage at the Trump administration. She also got some inadvertent assistance from an unlikely source.
United Democracy Project, a Super PAC funded by AIPAC, spent over $4 million on TV ads and direct mailers pummeling Malinowski, who was a consistent pro-Israel vote during his time in the House but more recently suggested that military aid to the country should be conditioned on ending the genocide in Gaza.
Like most AIPAC ads, they never mentioned Israel, and instead slammed Malinowski for voting to fund ICE all the way back in 2019. While intended to help former Lt. Gov Tahesha Way, they wound up benefiting Mejia, who ran as a staunch opponent of Trump’s immigration enforcement regime and called for ICE to be abolished. Way garnered with just over 17% of the vote, finishing a distant third.
It is, in a word, humiliating for the right-wing influence group, which may be losing its grip on Democratic politics after spending tens of millions of dollars to fuel primaries against progressive incumbents in 2024.
Massively outspent by her rivals and their outside allies, Mejia relied on a grassroots ground game that proved a decisive advantage during a freezing cold voting period. She also received a late boost from the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Working Families Party, which together kicked in $400K during the final sprint.
This was not a deep blue district, nor has it been a home to a growing democratic socialist movement like Mamdani’s Astoria base. Based in Essex County, the district is home to prosperous commuter communities and boasts a $135K median income, far above the state mark. Essex voters bucked the once-powerful party machine, using the election to express dismay at both Trump and elements of Democratic leadership.
A longtime organizer, Mejia is co-executive director of the progressive group Popular Democracy and served as the political director in Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign. Her ads, produced by the team behind NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s memorable and ultra-viral videos, consistently hammered special interests, corporations, and billionaires, holding them responsible for the economic malaise and affordability crisis plaguing New Jerseyans.
Her closing ad was less partisan than pure populist:
The success of that messaging is another data point for the potency of economic populism during an era of vast inequality and blatant corruption in the halls of power. As President Trump accepts bribes to prioritize billionaire donors, many of the nation’s wealthiest men are exposed as sexual predators, and trillion dollar business conduct mass layoffs, Americans across the political spectrum are increasingly angry and willing to toss out the establishment of both parties.
Mejia’s victory comes less than a week after Texas union leader Taylor Rehmet won a shocking special legislative election victory in deep red Tarrant County, a longtime Republican stronghold. Rehmet ran an economically populist campaign against a prominent and well-funded social conservative, deflecting culture war and focusing on fighting for working families.
Earlier on Thursday, a poll released by the research outfit Blueprint underscored the potency of anti-establishment populism, especially as compared to more moderate and bipartisan rhetoric.
Of the ten messages tested by the firm, the most effective, as you’ll see above, were those. that identified big money and corporations as scourges and promised to fight for the American dream. Call it aspirational pugilism, with a clear-eyed understanding of the problem and an articulation of the basic needs of middle class Americans.
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A lot of these populist economic policies are simply good economics. Good to see them breaking through.
Wow ! I love it ! Gotta love her !